Firebase Z: Aether Reactors and Pack-a-Punch

The power of Outpost 25

On Firebase Z, the power does not come from a switch but from three Aether Reactors, built by Omega Group to draw energy from Aetherium. Each one powers the part of the firebase around it, and the three together power the village. They are all at Outpost 25, past the teleporter.

Mission Control

With Dr. Peck nearby, the FFAR 1 on the wall and Stamin-Up up the stairs. Turning it on opens Scorched Defense.

Data Center

A tall round building past the Barracks. Turning it on opens Rocky Defense.

Military Command

Behind the Motor Pool. Juggernog stands right behind this reactor and works as soon as it is on.

Starting a reactor

Reach the reactor and start it for 500 points. Purple arrows on the ground point the way to each one.
Its collectors switch on, two or three of them around the area, and start to gather the essence of the zombies killed nearby, even behind barriers.
Defend the collectors: if they take too much damage, the reactor stops and costs 500 points again.
When the meter is full, the reactor explodes in a blast that kills the undead around it and pays 1000 points.

An inactive Aether Reactor, its glass tank dark, Firebase Z, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Zombies

An idle reactor

The glass tank stays dark until it is started.

An Aether Collector glowing blue and purple, Firebase Z, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Zombies

A collector at work

It draws the essence of the dead zombies into its core.

A Mimic and zombies attacking an Aether Reactor in a purple glow, promotional image, Firebase Z, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Zombies

Under attack

During an Assault Wave the zombies, and sometimes a Mimic, come for the reactor itself.

The reactors can be turned on in any order. In the village, Peck’s Quarters and the rest of the locked rooms open as well.

Assault Waves

Once restored, a reactor becomes the target of Dimensional Tear Assault Waves: surges of the undead that must be held back from it. A failed defense shuts the reactor down until it is started again. From the third wave, a portal opens in the sky and drops an Orda, which walks towards the reactor and burns it with a beam; the wave ends when it dies.

Orda

It resists every weapon and ammo mod, so it must be fought within the effective range of the weapon.

The teleporter and the Jump Pads

The teleporter

A ring of machinery around a purple vortex, on the hill above the village, reached through the Equipment Storage. It links the village to the Helipad, where the Trials computer waits.

The Jump Pads

Pads near the reactors that throw the players to another defense site, for 500 points a jump. A secret makes them free.

The Pack-a-Punch

The Pack-a-Punch Machine is in the Atrium of the starting village, next to Ravenov. Until the three reactors run, it only answers “You must turn on the Power first!”. Once they do, the players can teleport back to the village to upgrade their weapons there, and Der Wunderfizz opens in the Village Mess Hall next door.

In the First Room

Doors closed, none of this is in reach: the reactors are on the far side of the teleporter, so the Pack-a-Punch and the Wunderfizz of the village stay off for the whole game. Quick Revive, the Magnum, the crafting table and the Mystery Box of the Courtyard are in reach.